FLASHBACK: Six Terrible Consequences Of Marriage Equality, According To Bill O'Reilly

Bill O'Reilly is accusing progressives of hypocrisy over marriage equality while claiming not to have strong feelings about the subject. But the Fox News host has spent years attacking marriage equality, claiming that it would lead to people marrying animals.

During his March 26 program, O'Reilly attacked Bill Clinton and President Obama for recently stating that they support marriage equality after previously opposing it. O'Reilly later acknowledged that "the compelling argument is on the side of marriage equality," adding, "the gay marriage thing, I don't feel that strongly about it one way or the other."

O'Reilly is in no position to levy accusations of hypocrisy with regard to one's position on marriage equality. While O'Reilly has often said that he has no strong opinion about marriage equality, he has repeatedly fearmongered about what he claims are its natural consequences.

O'Reilly has claimed that marriage equality would lead to:

"A Totally Different Country." In 2005, O'Reilly slammed the Massachusetts Supreme Court for ruling that it was unconstitutional under the state constitution to allow only heterosexual couples to marry, warning that within ten years the decision would lead to a "totally different country" in which "you'll be able to marry a goat":

O'REILLY: The judges in Massachusetts knew they weren't going to be impeached when they said to the state legislature, "Gay marriage is now legal in Massachusetts because we say it is. We the judges" -- they knew they weren't gonna be impeached. They knew the legislature didn't care. You get the government you deserve. In California, the prevailing wisdom is marijuana is no big deal, let's legalize it. And since we can't get that through the legislature, we'll do it this way. And they did it! You see?

And 10 years, this is gonna be a totally different country than it is right now. Laws that you think are in stone -- they're gonna evaporate, man. You'll be able to marry a goat -- you mark my words! [Westwood One, The Radio Factor, 3/29/05]

Plural Marriages. O'Reilly has repeatedlywarned that legalizing same-sex marriages will lead to the legalization of "triads" or other plural marriages. As recently as October 2011 he interviewed a polygamist family to promote his theory that "if the country eventually permits gay marriage everywhere, then other groups will want the same treatment." [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 10/7/11]

People Marrying Ducks. In 2009, O'Reilly said that if marriage equality had been allowed in California, "then anybody could have gotten married. You could have married a duck." [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 5/26/09]

O'Reilly later claimed his duck remark was "a satirical jest," an odd claims since he had been making similar comparisons for years.

People Marrying Turtles. In 2009, O'Reilly told a supporter of marriage equality, "[Y]ou would let everybody get married who want to get married. You want to marry a turtle, you can." [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 5/11/09]

People Marrying Dolphins. In 2006, O'Reilly linked marriage equality to the story of a British woman who "married" a dolphin in Israel. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 1/4/2006]

The Abolition Of Marriage. In 2005, O'Reilly said that "[t]he secular progressive movement would like to have marriage abolished, in my opinion. They don't want it, because it is not diverse enough. You know, that's what this gay marriage thing is all about." [Westwood One, The Radio Factor, 9/14/05]

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MattGertz
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Matt Gertz is Research Director at Media Matters. He has written extensively on media coverage of the Benghazi attacks, gun violence, voting rights, LGBT issues, and elections, as well as on media ethics. He joined Media Matters in 2007 and holds a B.A. in political science from Columbia University.

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